The present invention is directed to a cryptographic system and method and, in particular, to a time-based cryptographic technique for generating a cryptographic key that is unique to the user.
The remote device market has grown rapidly, in particular, mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other such devices. Many users need and desire to store valuable and potentially life-saving data on their mobile devices in order to have it portable and readily available without relying on data transmission of this information through the internet or other networks. This includes, but is not limited to, healthcare records, financial records, education records and identity records for emergency purposes or for providing information to third parties. These records often contain important, confidential identity and personal information which the user cannot risk exposing to the public.
Security software to protect information on these remote devices is limited and current software techniques typically use a two-factor authentication scheme: something you “have”, the device; and something you “know”, which is typically a password or personal identification number (PIN). This scheme may be compromised through various techniques including, but not limited to, reverse engineering of the software application, electronic capture or listening of entered passwords and PINS, virus code placed on the device to record and transmit information, brute force software attack to reproduce the password and theft. As a result, many users choose not to store this type of valuable information and carry it with them on a mobile device.
Three-factor authentication is recognized by the industry as providing the maximum amount of user protection, but has typically required some level of hardware biometric capture and is usually, but not limited to, fingerprint, iris, facial, or hand geometry recognition. The hardware techniques are often cost prohibitive and require many physical changes since remote devices, especially mobile phones and tablets, are updated regularly and changed often.